Tuesday, March 19

Countries

EU-Egypt Strategic partnership
  • The three-year EU-Egypt strategic partnership aims to facilitate economic reforms and avert a migration crisis within the region.
  • The triennial agreement represents the latest endeavour by the bloc to prevent refugees from traversing the Mediterranean.

EU-Egypt strategic partnership

EU leaders have finalised a deal worth $7.4 billion with Egypt to bolster the nation’s struggling economy. This move seeks to foster stability within the “troubled” region and prevent a new European migration crisis.

The three-year EU-Egypt strategic partnership includes $5 billion in soft loans to facilitate economic reforms, $1.8 billion to encourage private sector investments, and $600 million in grants. Of these grants, $200 million is allocated for migration management.

Following months of intense and productive diplomatic engagement between the EU and Egypt, six EU leaders journeyed to Cairo on Sunday, as stated by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.”

The visit occurred just days following allegations by members of the European …

Read More
South Sudan is in economic crisis
  • Over a decade since gaining independence, South Sudan continues to be affected by fragility, economic stagnation, and instability.
  • South Sudan’s economy is clouded by production bottlenecks in the oil sector, with production dwindling in the face of limited new investment.
  • The susceptibility of South Sudan to climate change and natural calamities exacerbates the nation’s economic challenges, threatening the progress of growth and development initiatives.

The Republic of South Sudan emerged as the world’s newest sovereign state and the 54th country in Africa on July 9, 2011. However, the progress of development post-independence was significantly hampered by civil war outbreaks in 2013 and 2016, which also aggravated the humanitarian crisis.

Over a decade since gaining independence, South Sudan continues to be affected by fragility, economic stagnation, and instability. Pervasive poverty is further intensified by ongoing conflict, displacement, and external shocks.

Crisis facing the oil and energy sector

Oil production is …

Tanzania's population
  • Tanzania’s population is expected to reach 140 million people by 2050.
  • The World Bank estimates that Tanzania’s population will double every 23 years.
  • Tanzania set to become one of Africa’s and the world’s most populated countries.

Tanzania’s population is expected to reach 140 million people by 2050 given the current high fertility rate of 3.0 per cent. At this rate, the World Bank estimates that Tanzania’s population will double every 23 years henceforth.

In its latest Tanzania Economic Update that was launched in the country’s port city of Dar es Salaam this March, the World Bank says when it comes to population control, the East African country is facing a delicate balance act.

On the one hand, Tanzania has managed to lower its mortality rates and raise its life expectancy but as a result, it is now facing the effects of high birth rates and, they are not all good.…

financing Al-Shabaab
  • These businesses, along with their affiliates in Kenya, Uganda, Somalia, Cyprus and UAE form the backbone of a sophisticated network that launders millions of dollars for Al-Shabaab.
  • US says firms such as Nairobi-based Crown Bus Services and other investment projects that masquerade as legit commercial ventures, empower Al-Shabaab’s lethal agenda.
  • Al-Shabaab is estimated to siphon over $100 million per year from the regional and global financial system.

The US, through its Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), has cast a wide net across the UAE, Kenya, Uganda, and Somalia, targeting entities and individuals with wide-ranging sanctions for their complicity in financing Al-Shabaab terror network.

This designation, enveloping 16 entities and individuals, reveals the intricate web of financial operations spanning from the Horn of Africa to the opulent corridors of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the serene island nation of Cyprus.

This sprawling network, carefully pieced …

Nigeria's cost of living crisis
  • Nigeria’s cost of living crisis has been the worst in decades, exacerbated by worsening food insecurity and record inflation. 
  • The lack of enough resources has led to insecurity in Nigeria as people fight for scarce resources and food.
  • In response to Nigeria’s cost of living crisis, Tinubu announced a state of emergency in July and intends to begin grain distribution in the coming weeks.

Tinubu’s Reforms worsen Nigeria’s cost of living crisis

Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, is grappling with the worst cost of living crisis in decades and a worsening food security situation. A significant portion of the population is experiencing extreme food insecurity. After assuming power in May 2023, Bola Tinubu’s administration adopted bold but unpopular reforms that further strained the already-battered economy.

Nigeria imports food and fuel and was buffeted by rising commodity prices due to a glim global economic situation in the last two years. President Tinubu

Kenyan Women Journalists
  • In Kenya, a concerning 75.4% of women journalists have reported experiencing online harassment.
  • Several sub-Saharan African countries have enacted national frameworks, such as the Cybercrimes Act to counter the menace.
  • However, while legal frameworks provide avenues for recourse, more proactive measures are needed to combat online violence effectively.

In an era dominated by digital platforms and social media, the rise of disinformation and online harassment poses significant challenges for journalists across the globe.

According to Clarice Wambua, a lawyer at leading corporate and commercial law firm Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr (CDH) Kenya, this is especially true for women journalists in sub-Saharan Africa, who provide a vital service to society and must not be bullied into silence.

She notes that the pursuit of truth is of utmost importance, but women journalists in Africa often encounter difficult situations. Despite their valuable contributions to the field, they often face different types of harassment, which …

Egypt's economy
  • Egypt’s economy has recently been on life support as the national debt continued to mount.
  • The investments from Saudi Arabia and further funds anticipated from the World Bank and IMF will give Egypt enough cash to meet its debt obligations and maintain stability in its recently floated currency.
  • The significant official and bilateral support announced and marked policy steps that Egypt has taken will, if maintained, support macroeconomic balancing.

Egypt’s economy on life support

Egypt’s economy has recently been on life support as the national debt continued to mount. The Egyptian currency has weakened against the US dollar, with rising inflation rates close to 30 per cent, occasioning a capital flight. Moreover, the overlapping global shocks and the domestic supply of bottlenecks have adversely impacted the country’s economic activity.

Egypt has also suffered from rising global interest rates and soaring commodity prices in international markets. These overlapping factors widen the …

Kenya's business conditions
  • Kenya’s private sector activity and new orders rises for the first time in six months.
  • Selling price inflation hits long-run average as cost burdens ease.
  • However, PMI shows lowest confidence towards future output in the survey’s history.

Kenya’s business conditions improved in February, expanding private sector activity due to a further softening of inflationary pressures supported a fresh increase in new order volumes.

Stanbic Bank Kenya Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for February registered at 51.3 per cent as lower fuel prices helped to cool input cost inflation to a 26-month low, supporting the softest increase in output prices for one-and-a-half years.

Improving business conditions are said to have led Kenyan companies to expand staffing levels at a faster rate albeit by largely hiring casuals pointing to a cautionary stance towards hiring permanently.

Nevertheless, confidence regarding future activity fell to a survey low, suggesting a broad degree of uncertainty that activity …

the PRESAN-PC project
  • The African Development Bank has donated $20 million to Senegal to enhance food security and support small producers post-COVID through the PRESAN-PC project.
  • Infrastructure development, including agricultural boreholes and solar-powered systems, aims to increase farm production and resilience to climate change.
  • The project benefits vulnerable women and youth, includes contributions from various sources, and impacts 31,000 households across multiple Senegalese regions.

In an ambitious move to ensure food security and enhance the livelihoods of its small producers, Senegal has received a significant financial boost. On a notable day in March 2024, the African Development Bank Group allocated a $20 million donation to the nation for the Post-Covid Food and Nutrition Security Enhancement Project (PRESAN-PC).

The initiative aims to transform Senegal’s agricultural landscape, benefiting vulnerable women and young people through increased farm production and income.

African Development Bank’s $20 million donation to Senegal 

The African Development Bank’s generous donation comes from …

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

STAY INFORMED

Unlock Business Wisdom - Join The Exchange Africa's Newsletter for Expert African Business Insights!

Stay ahead of the game with our weekly African business Newsletter
Recieve Expert analysis, commentary and Insights into the enviroment which can help you make informed decisions.